Implantable medical devices (e.g., medical therapy delivery devices), such as catheters and leads, may be employed for a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Controlled placement and retention of such therapy delivery elements in a subject is highly desirable as precise placement and retention should result in improved therapeutic efficacy and/or reduced side effects. However, the location of the delivery element may change in time. For example, as the subject moves, the location of an implanted delivery element may move or shift within the subject.
Anchors may be placed about the therapy delivery element and sutured to subcutaneous tissue of the subject in order to secure the position of a delivery region of the therapy delivery element (e.g., an infusion section or electrode of the delivery element) relative to a target location of the subject.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,295,948 to Barker et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference, describes tubular anchors for use with implantable spinal cord stimulators. These lead anchors require that the lead or leads of the implantable spinal cord stimulator be threaded through multiple tubular members and the lead anchor secured to the subject's tissue with sutures. However, it would be advantageous to provide deployment devices for medical devices and medical device anchors and anchoring systems that enable a practitioner to reliably and repeatedly install such anchors (or other components) on a medical device, while simplifying the installment procedures.